Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Gambba-Jones (South Holland District Council), Councillor O Bierley (West Lindsey District Council), Ady Selby (West Lindsey District Council) and Victoria Burgess (jointly representing East Lindsey District Council, Boston Borough Council and South Holland District Council).

It was noted that Councillor J McNeill (West Lindsey District Council) was in attendance in place of Councillor O Bierley (West Lindsey District Council).

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

          That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 November 2021 be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive an report which provides an update of activities taking place in Partner authorities)

Partners received a report which provided an opportunity to share any information that may be of interest to the rest of the Partnership.  Written updates from each of the Partners had been provided.

In addition to the updates provided, East Lindsey District Council advised they were working with the enforcement team and going out to tender to private companies.  All three councils (East Lindsey, South Holland and Boston Borough) would be able to carry out enforcement and tweak the contract according to their own requirements.  It was planned that this would be in place for spring 2022 and it was hoped all three councils would benefit.  It was noted that the report which set out the detail of this could be shared with the Partnership for information and would be circulated in due course.

(A discussion item to enable Partners to discuss any potential impacts and implications for Lincolnshire of the Environment Act)

The Partnership received a presentation which outlined details of potential impacts and implications for Lincolnshire of the Environment Act 2021.  The presentation covered areas for discussion including Defra consultations, impacts on the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership – Enhanced Producer Responsibility (EPR); Deposit Return Schemes (DRS); and Consistency of Collections; Food Waste; Food Waste – Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) Actions.

Partners were provided with the opportunity to discuss the information outlined in the presentation and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·       A stakeholder group to enable officers to speak to neighbouring authorities had been set up

·       There would be a need to look at disposal locations for Waste Collection Authorities (WCA’s), and also the haulage of materials.  This would be a significant risk for WCA’s in securing fleets, as all areas of the country would be making these changes at the same time and there would be a limited supply of vehicles.

·       It was queried whether there would be an effect on the capacity of the Energy from Waste facility, and once food waste started to be removed from the waste stream, would there be an option to replace it with green waste.  In terms of Energy from Waste facility throughput, there was more concern regarding volume than the material that going through it.  Capacity had been maximised in recent years, and reducing the volume could have efficiency implications.  FCC were currently examining the implications of this.  If additional capacity became available, there could be an opportunity to draw in private sector waste.

·       Concerns had been raised around transportation, and officers advised that they were aware of potential issues and technology was changing constantly in this area.  There would be a need to be pragmatic and be led by what was available in the market and the available infrastructure, for example, in relation to electric vehicles.

·       It was noted that positive discussions had taken place with North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Councils, and had been very welcoming of the approach so far, and there was an aspiration to generate more of a relationship with them to explore any shared service opportunities in haulage contracts, recycling, composting etc.

·       Concerns were raised around potential costs to district councils, for example the food waste trial by SKDC was being stepped down due to the costs involved going forward and the costs to scale up from the current trial including purchase of new vehicles.  There would be a need for additional funding from government in order to continue this separate collection.  In the consultation, there was an indication that new burden funding would be made available.  It was acknowledged that it was not known how much this funding would be, but it was believed that it would be based on modelling rather than actual costs, and if there was a shortfall in funding it would be difficult for all authorities.

·       The financial impact of green waste collections being provided as a free service to households was estimated to be around £800,000  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

(To receive a verbal update from South Kesteven District Council on the food waste collection trial)

The Partnership received an update from South Kesteven District Council in relation to the food waste collection trial.  It was reported that this trial had now been running for four years, the first two years were funded by the County Council, and the last two years it had been funded by South Kesteven District Council.  With a national strategy in relation to food waste collection three years away, the district was no longer able to afford to continue with the separate food waste collection.  A decision was due to be made regarding this trial at a meeting of the full Council that afternoon.

Officers suggested that they would bring a full report back to a future meeting of the Partnership, depending on the decision made by the Council.  The trial had been very successful, with good participation.  Approximately 1.5kg of food waste per household per week had been collected.  Lessons had been learned from this work, which the district would share this with the Partnership.

It was noted that South Kesteven District Council had demonstrated that food waste could be collected successfully.

RESOLVED

1.    That the update be noted.

2.    That a report on the Food Waste Collection Trial be brought back to a future meeting of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.

(To receive a report by Matthew Michell, LCC Waste Strategy Manager, which provides the Partnership with an update on the suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) which measure progress against the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy)

The Partnership received a report and presentation from the LCC Waste Strategy Manager which provided an update on the suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) which measure progress against the vision and objectives set out in the LWP’s Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS).  The KPI’s related to four strategic themes:

-       Waste Hierarchy – how we are prioritising waste minimisation and recycling

-       Contamination – recycling contamination rate (kerbside recyclables)

-       Carbon – overall LWP waste management carbon footprint (per head)

-       Customer friendly – satisfaction with waste collections/HWRC’s

The report reflected that whilst Covid-related restrictions were gradually being lifted, waste was still being received in different quantities and composition to pre-Covid, particularly in reduced throughput at Household Waste Recycling Centres.  It was still not clear how much of that Covid impact was temporary, and to what extent authorities were now seeing a “new normal” (e.g. more working from home) which may continue in the longer term.

Partners were provided with the opportunity to ask questions in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points highlighted during discussion included the following:

·       In relation to sampling of residual waste, it would be interesting to see how much recyclable material did end up in the waste stream.

·       Education was essential in encouraging recycling. It was noted that this was something which had been identified and there was a need to be a bit more proactive with how messages are communications to younger people and schools. Partners were advised that information packs would be distributed to primary schools and officers would be visiting schools to talk about waste.

·       It was suggested that contamination levels had dropped following the introduction of twin stream recycling due to bins not being emptied if they contained material other than paper and card, and this was then leading to increased fly tipping in some areas.

·       There had been concerns about people in urban areas needing to have three bins for the twin stream collections.  Officers advised that it was the responsibility of individuals to try and abide by the rules which were set.  There was a need to take a collaborative approach and engage with the public regarding the rules and requirements.

·       Complaints were being received from some residents about additional cardboard and side waste not being collected.  If residents did have an excessive amount of cardboard or cardboard which did not fit in the purple lidded bin, they were encouraged to take it to the Household Waste Recycling Centre.  It was not possible to collect side waste as once it became wet, it was not able to be processed and it would become contamination.

·       It was acknowledged that there had been an increase in fly tipping over the past two years, and this had led to the development of the environmental crime partnership, and it had been recognised by government as a national problem.  However, it was emphasised that it was not believed that this material was being discarded by households,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

(To receive a report which presents the LWP Forward Plan for consideration, and invites Partners to suggest items for consideration at future meetings)

The Partnership considered its forward plan, and the following items were noted for inclusion at future meetings:

·       Food Waste Collection report from South Kesteven District Council

·       Paper and Card collection roll-out – West Lindsey District Council

·       Update on progress with the Environment Act, and national, regional and local implications

RESOLVED

          That the above items be scheduled for consideration by the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.